Ritual in the Roman World: Approaches to Theory and Practices

This volume examines ritual in the Roman world through small finds, depositional practices and temple sites, showing how diverse, evolving ritual behaviours emerged within a globalised empire. It highlights continuity across pre‑Roman to post‑Roman phases and even modern reuses of ritual spaces. Ritual in the Roman World expands our current understanding of what are considered ritual behaviours in the Roman period, bringing together research on small finds, depositional practice, and temple sites. As a material representation of the attempt to put order and definition to one’s world, examining ritual practices offers insight into both social and cosmological structures within a given cultural context. In this context, the Roman world is understood functioning as a globalised/glocalised system and fostering a spectrum of ritualised behaviours across its different regions and periods. This was the result of a long habit of incorporating and rejecting local traditions encountered during its expansion as well as interfacing with those of the peoples outside its borders. By bringing together research on small finds as well as temple sites, this volume presents new discoveries in the field as well as innovative interpretative approaches applied to instances of continuity of use of ritual sites, including across the pre-Roman/Roman/post-Roman transitions, as well as instances of modern uses of Roman period ritual spaces so to frame ritual behaviours beyond the traditional connection of ritual practices and religious beliefs.